Don't hold your breath waiting for your vestry to ask these questions, but this is my version of a Baylor poll that was analyzed on T19 for the very small number of Episcopalians in the survey. Click on the title to read the analysis.
Feel free to print this up and present it to your vestry.
1. How do you describe yourself regarding religious issues
a. Liberal
b. Conservative
c. Moderate
d. None of the above
2. Which one statement comes closest to your personal beliefs about God?
a. I have no doubts that God exist
b. I sometimes believe in God
c. I believe in God, but with some doubts
d. I believe in a higher power or cosmic force and not the God of the Bible
e. I don't believe in anything beyond the physical world
3. Which one statement comes closest to your personal beliefs about Jesus
a. Jesus is a fictional character
b. Jesus probably existed, but he was not special
c. Jesus was extraordinary person/wasn't messenger of God
d. Jesus was one of many messengers or prophets of God
e. Jesus is the son of God
f. I have no opinion or am unsure
4. Which one statement comes closest to your personal beliefs about the Bible
a. It means exactly what it says/should be taken literally
b. It is perfectly true, should not be taken literally
c. The Bible contains some human error
d. The Bible is an ancient book of history and legends
e. I don't know
5. How often did you participate in the following religious activities last month - Prayer meetings
a. Not at all
b. 1-2 times
c. 3-4 times
d. 5 or more
e. no response
6. About how often do you pray or meditate outside of religious services
a. Never
b. Only on certain occasions
c. Once a week
d. A few times aweek
e. Once a day
f. Several times a day
g. No response
7. Outside of attending religious services, about how often do you read the Bible
a. Never
b. less than 1-2 times a yr
c. Several times a yr
d. 2-3 times a month
e. weekly
f. daily
g. no response
8. How often do you attend religious services?
a. Never
b. less than 1-2 times a yr
c. Several times a yr
d. 2-3 times a month
e. weekly
f. daily
g. no response
9. How important is it to do the following.. in order to be a good person convert others to your religious faith
a. Very
b. Somewhat
c. Not very
d. Not at all
e. No response
10. How often did you participate in the following religious activities last month -Witnessing/sharing your faith with friends
a. Not at all
b. 1-2 times
c. 3-4 times
d. 5 or more times
e. No response
11. How often did you participate in the following religious activities last month - Witnessing/sharing your faith with strangers
a. Not at all
b. 1-2 times
c. 3-4 times
d. 5 or more times
e. No response
12. How do you feel about abortion in the following circumstance... The woman does not want the child
a. Always wrong
b. Almost always wrong
c. Only wrong sometimes
d. Not wrong at all
e. No response
13. How do you feel about abortion in the following circumstances... The family cannot afford the child
a. Always wrong
b. Almost always wrong
c. Only wrong sometimes
d. Not wrong at all
e. No response
14. How do you feel about the following... Embryonic stem cell research
a. Always wrong
b. Almost always wrong
c. Only wrong sometimes
d. Not wrong at all
e. No response
15. How do you feel about the following... d. Physician-assisted suicide
a. Always wrong
b. Almost always wrong
c. Only wrong sometimes
d. Not wrong at all
e. No response
16. How do you feel about the following marriage and family related issues... b. Living with a partner before marriage
a. Always wrong
b. Almost always wrong
c. Only wrong sometimes
d. Not wrong at all
e. No response
17. How do you feel about sexual relations in the following circumstances... c. With someone other than the marriage partner
a. Always wrong
b. Almost always wrong
c. Only wrong sometimes
d. Not wrong at all
e. No response
18. How do you feel about sexual relations in the following circumstances... b. Between two adults of the same sex
a. Always wrong
b. Almost always wrong
c. Only wrong sometimes
d. Not wrong at all
e. No response
19. How do you feel about the following marriage and family related issues - Divorce
a. Always wrong
b. Almost always wrong
c. Only wrong sometimes
d. Not wrong at all
e. No response
20. In the past year did you...write, call, or visit a public official
a. Yes
b. No
21. How important is it to do the following.. in order to be a good person; a. Actively seek social and economic justice
a. Very
b. Somewhat
c. Not very
d. not at all
e. No response
22. How important is it to do the following.. in order to be a good person; Take care of the sick and needy
a. Very
b. Somewhat
c. Not very
d. not at all
e. No response
Posts
Labour’s budget: retail sales slip, possible U-turn on farm policy coming
-
Continuing on from yesterday’s post about the drama that is the Labour
government, more bad news follows. However, there is some good news at the
end of th...
2 hours ago
Why is this survey important? Is it meant to divide us, categorize us, marginalize us? It seems like a product of modern-day Pharisees: those who pray more, read their Bibles more, condemn those who have had abortions or who have divorced, etc. can hold their heads up as "holy." The lack of context makes many of the items meaningless in my view.
ReplyDeleteThese questions were part of a larger survey, the reviewer picked out some of the more polarizing questions for his analysis. You are an astute observer. Polls should be meant to inform and lead to hypotheses for inquiry, but many questions can be leading. A poll such as this might be used to identify if we are slaves to popular culture or are we grounded in faith. If you are offended, look deeper.
ReplyDelete